From Idea to Action: The Power of 52 Journey

By Monika Platek

We were sitting on the couch on New Year’s Day, recuperating from the party the night before as you can surely understand, when this idea came out of the blue. Instead of turning his brain ‘off’ for a few hours, Todd was busy thinking of something cool we could do in 2013. We had been married just a few months and the honeymoon phase was still in full swing. Heck, it still is, almost 2 years later!

“Let’s do something BIG this year. Something challenging…but really fun,” he started. “Every week we can do a different adventure…and also an act of kindness. For 52 weeks.” Just like that, out of Todd’s zest for life and my willingness to join in, the ‘Power of 52‘ concept was born. We loved the name of it right away and it inspired us to start working on a list of adventures and acts that very night!

Fast forward and here we are…52 weeks later, while it all *may* have taken longer than the ‘year’ we expected. During this whole thing, I was working on the CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, which meant fewer weekends to focus on the Power of 52, and planning for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Our 52-week journey wasn’t as fluid or consistent as we would have liked, but the point is that we STUCK to it and saw our vision through! I always said, “It doesn’t matter if we don’t finish within the year, as long we cap off 52 weeks…eventually!”

So what are the 3 lessons I learned from this fun ride?

1. If you’re stuck looking for inspiration, you actually have to be willing to CREATE it! Life can become so routine and drab…but by committing to the Power of 52, we were ‘forced’ to constantly think of new adventures to do together and MORE importantly, discover new ways to give back to the community and those closest to us! The inspiration flowed from actively pursuing it.

2. If you set a goal, do whatever it takes to complete it, even if time isn’t on your side. Some may think it wasn’t challenging to make time for the Power of 52 – but in a world where work and social media and chores and you-get-the-point take up 99% of the day – sticking to goals is becoming harder than ever. Especially goals that aren’t for fame or money or career advances – this mission was all about betterment and growing and getting the most out of the year! Shouldn’t we aim to set more goals like that, anyway? The types of goals that result in us feeling really, genuinely and soulfully happy?

3. Don’t ever stop exploring. This is ALL we did when we were kids. We sought out the next adventure and saw the best in the world. Then life happened and we got bogged down by responsibility and we accepted that life can be boring. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE BORING! That concept is at the core of the Power of 52 and more importantly, our marriage. Explore your neighborhood. Explore your city…and if you have some extra cash, splurge on a trip to the next adventure. It is always worth it.

A big thanks to my daily inspiration and real-life superhero – my hubby Todd. Can’t wait to see what we think of next…just sitting on our couch, on New Year’s Day.